Ethnography

Ethnography

October 12, 2015

My frands

Walked into the Caravan earlier than usual today to find it very crowded!
I was greeted immediately by a friend who was waiting to meet our other friend for coffee, it was nice to see my friend but I was ready to observe the high volume of customers
There was a fair share of women who were meeting up in pairs and talking over drinks today.
One pair of ladies looked older than the rest, they were probably around 69 years old, both were blonde with ponytails. One woman wore white shorts and a tight yellow jacket and the other wore basketball shorts and a green tank top with some type of ocean design on it. I wondered and was fairly sure they are some type of exercise buddies, most likely walking buddies. They talked in a very official way, as over dinner with your in-laws.
Another pair of ladies seemed to be gathered together for some type of project meeting or study session, their talking though seemed to have dominated the reason they were there. One girl has long black hair and bright red lipstick, she wore a blouse and shorts. The other girl had fluffy red hair half tied back, she had on a t-shirt, a jean jacket, and long jeans with black flats. I wondered how two totally different people had met, as the black haired girl talked and talked and the red haired girl shyly smiled and seemed to murmur back every once in a while.
The other couples I could not hear, but another pair of girls (besides the two girls that are my friends) were a pair of younger girls, they were probably around 12 years old. They both had purses, short shorts, and way too much makeup on. They talked close together and huddled.
A man approached me as I worked, waved at me and asked if he could use half my table. "Sure go for it!" I said, hoping to get some cool insights. He ordered tea and a sandwich, laid out some papers that looked like paperwork and got to working.
I noticed that the lady at the counter looked tired today, which is unusual compared to how she is normally (smiley and sweet).
My friends got up to leave and came over to say goodbye to me, they asked who the man across from me was so I awkwardly explained I had no idea, at which point he shook my hand and told me his name and then got back to work.
He didn't talk again until he left, where he said "thanks so much for letting me use half your table, I have some tea left you can help yourself to!" And he took off
I noticed a blonde girl with bangs sitting in the corner working on something, and I remembered seeing her here before with another girl. She must be a normal customer, her vibe totally fits this place. She's what I would call a hipster, but the hipster/hippie kind.
When I left, I noticed two people sitting outside, they had not ordered anything, and I wondered why we all do that. It must be the guilt of not purchasing their products that forced us to feel like we must sit outside I guess it's fair!
I am glad to support the Carivan!

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